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Scripture tells believers that a savior will appear at the end of the world to do God's bidding and save the souls of the people.

When the day of salvation comes, all life will end. The souls of those chosen by Bhunivelze will be saved and reborn in the new world. The one who is tasked with delivering them there is known as the savior.

In this sense, the savior also heralds the coming of the end. For the heretics who do not believe in the teachings of the Order, or the promise of a new world, she is thought to be little more than a harbinger of destruction.

The Ark is a man-made satellite, created to be a place of refuge for humanity in the face of the world's destruction. Hope oversaw its construction, completing it approximately 500 years ago. It was launched with most of the world's people inside, and that is how humanity survived the initial catastrophe. yet eventually the Chaos reached as far as the Ark and it was abandoned by the people it had saved.

Within the Ark exists a separate dimension, where time does not move. This is the savior's base of operations. God intends for the savior to gather the souls of the people of Nova Chrysalia within the Ark when the world ends, to carry them onward to the new world he will create.

When the Ark was completed, Hope gave it the name Bhunivelze. It seemed only a coincidence at the time, but perhaps God's plans were already in motion, sweeping the young leader of mankind along in their wake.

The history of Nova Chrysalia began 500 years ago, when the walls between this world and the next broke, allowing Chaos to flood the dimension in which humanity lives.

The influx of Chaos slowly covered the lands, leaving only small tracts still inhabitable by man. The people stood strong in the face of this disaster thanks to the strength of their leader, Hope Estheim. But when he disappeared without warning 169 years ago, the bonds that had held society together began to dissolve. After many years of living with the Chaos, a church that preached of God's salvation appeared and quickly grew to power, capturing faltering hearts. This was the Order of Salvation. It brought about the great changes in the lives of the people, and returned a sense of stability of society. The people of this dying world largely chose the path of faith: bowing to their God in hope of salvation.

The Order now governs much of human society from its seat of power in the grand cathedral in Luxerion.

Believe in the coming of the new world, entrust yourself and all you are to God on high—this is the teaching that has won over the majority of humanity. It is a message of hope in a world with no future, a balm for those suffering under the burden of overlong lives.

In the past, the Order also led the suppression of "heretics" who did not accept its principles, but that is no longer official policy. This is part of the reason why so many people are perplexed by the one-sided violence being displayed by some heretic groups.

This mysterious energy came from another dimension and continues to eat away at the world. Most of the land has already been flooded by the sea of Chaos and the world is on the brink of destruction.

The Chaos gives birth to monsters and is the mystical source of a certain kind of seed. It appears like a dark mist to human eyes, but surprisingly, it cannot be seen by God. That is why it is sometimes called the unseen Chaos. Many believe that when a human dies, his or her soul returns to the sea of Chaos.

The world once counted 13 hours before noon and 13 hours after, making days that lasted 26 hours. But ever since the world was flooded by the Chaos, it has lost these 13th hours, and the days now last only 24 hours.

The two hours that disappeared from each day, lost beyond the distortion of time and space, are known by many names. Some call the phenomenon "the lost hours", others "the time given to God". Most clocks in the world have been remade to reflect the 24-hour day.

The Children of Etro is a religious group pledged to the goddess of death. Its members believe that the only salvation humanity can look forward to is the peace of death.

Etro's followers have turned their back on the teachings of the Order, and expect no salvation from almighty Bhunivelze. They do not hope to be reborn in the new world which Bhunivelze promises. Rather, they hope to be welcomed into Valhalla, the world of the dead.

Many heretics are moderates who keep to themselves, but there are also fanatics who are willing to commit murder in the name of their own brand of salvation.

This mysterious figure is worshiped by the Etro fanatics who prowl the streets of Luxerion. They view him as a dark hero who will rid them of Bhunivelze's servant by killing the savior and bringing about the future they hope for.

The Order sees the Shadow Hunter as the leader of the heretics, and is trying to learn his whereabouts, but his description varies wildly on who you speak to. Some think of him as a cold-blooded assassin, while others think he is a righteous knight who punishes those who have escaped justice under the law. Then there are others who doubt he is even still alive.

These devices can record a vision of what is to occur in the future and play it back for others. They are uncovered in ruins that once belonged to an ancient people called the Farseers. This tribe was ruled for generations by the seeress Yeul, who possessed the ability to see the future, and they labored to record the visions with which she was cursed.

The images which are recorded within an Oracle Drive are sure to come to pass, if the current path of history is followed. If the future that is depicted in an Oracle Drive is somehow changed, then any alternate futures that might arise are then reflected in the Oracle Drive.

Noel was a Guardian serving the seeress Yeul and a traveler through time. he knows better than anyone alive the unseen sorrows that can arise from changing the future. Is that why he seeks to protect the prophecy shown on the Oracle drive? Or is it simply that, more than anything, he wants it to be true?

The chocobo is a great bird most easily recognized by its bright yellow plumage. Chocobos are extremely useful to humans and often used as steeds. They are irreplaceable allies to the hunters who eke out a living in the Wildlands.

In those same Wildlands, there is a legend of a pure-white chocobo, called the Angel of Valhalla, who would appear at the end of the world. Until recently, the story has remained just that; but the number of reported sightings is on the increase. A certain veterinarian in the Canopus Farms, affectionately known as Dr. Gysahl, is said to be the authority on everything related to this legend.

A cursed temple that stands in the north of the Wildlands, beneath which, it is said, lies the great Chaos.

The temple is not a thing of this world. It is an artifact which appeared from Valhalla, the realm of the dead goddess Etro, when the Chaos flooded through the gate. Could it offer some further understanding of the destruction that afflicts the world?

The Angel of Valhalla is meant to carry the chosen one to the temple of the goddess—that is what the legends say. Lightning heard a voice telling her as much when she arrived here. It seems like too great of a coincidence to mean nothing.

This mysterious box, a gift to Sazh from Lumina, seems infused with the power of Chaos.

Dajh's soul is fragmented and scattered across the world. If Lightning can collect all of the soul fragments and place them in the coffer, it should be possible to return Dajh's soul to his body. Then, perhaps, he will awake from the comatose state he has been in for so long.

Sazh has been searching for the soul fragments throughout Nova Chrysalia, but his failure to find even one has driven him to despair.

Many gangs of bandits used to operate in the Dead Dunes, plundering the treasures that once filled the ruins here. But now, only the gang known as Monoculus survives. Based in the outlaw settlement of Ruffian, they are the de facto government of the desert.

The members of Monoculus are fiercely loyal to their leader and proud of the bonds that hold their group together. They see all of the ruins in the desert as part of their territory, and they watch diligently to make sure that the holy clavis is not stolen in the rush that follows the unsealing of the ruins.

This legendary relic is said to have been made by the gods themselves. It is used in rites to summon the souls of the dead.

It is thought that the clavis lies somewhere in the ruins of the Dead Dunes, and the bandit gang Monoculus have had their sights set on it for many years. The Order also shows a great deal of interest in the treasure, suggesting that it is no mere fairy tale, but a credible artifact from the past.

Both groups have searched the desert for the clavis, but have been stymied by powerful seals that keep them out of certain ruins.

On the last day of the world, the Soulsong will be held in the Order's great cathedral to purify and put to rest the souls of the dead. This rite requires the holy clavis, which draws the souls of the dead to it.

Only the Soulsong can ease the suffering of the hundreds of millions who wander within the Chaos, tormented eternally in the darkness. And only Vanille, the saint who can hear their voices, can perform it. The Order must have both to perform this final rite.

Spoilers end here.

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